There is enough magic in the attacking play of Manchester City to edge ahead
of Jose Mourinho's brutal points-accumulating machine

This Premier League title race has become a contest between the exuberance of Arsenal and Manchester City and the expediency of Chelsea. If symphonic forward play is to prevail, City will be the irresistible force that overcomes Jose Mourinho’s immovable object.

Those of us who picked Chelsea to be champions back in August are bound by that prediction. With each game Mourinho turns them into a points-accumulating machine, less concerned with entertainment than grabbing a goal or two and shutting down the opposition. But there is a magic about City’s attacking play that should now be decisive, provided they continue to treat away games seriously and concentrate properly on defending, which they failed to do in a 4-2 win over Cardiff at the weekend.

That win, their 16th in 22 Premier League fixtures, sent City crashing through the 100-goal barrier in all competitions and left them one point behind Arsenal, who continue to rely on Olivier Giroud as their only A-grade striker. Though Arsene Wenger’s midfield are making up the shortfall, City have scored 63 times to Arsenal’s 43 and can call on Sergio Aguero, Edin Dzeko and Alvaro Negredo, as well as Stevan Jovetic when fit.

City’s golden formula was to buy early and well in the summer, appoint a coach who is in synch with their stylistic principles and remove the friction of the Roberto Mancini years. The only flaw in Manuel Pellegrini’s scheme is that the defending is sometimes inferior to the attacking, as Martin Demichelis showed against Cardiff. But even if opponents score against them the avalanche at the other end is likely to be unanswerable.

Negredo, Dzeko and Aguero have scored 58 times between them with 16 league games left.

Arsenal, who are travelling sweetly and defending well, cannot match this firepower. The greater threat to City is Mourinho’s reversion to a way he knows and loves. Chelsea’s flirtation with champagne football was abandoned when Mourinho started to feel offended by how many goals they were conceding. Now, he wags his finger at Ramires when he makes forward runs and berates David Luiz for abandoning defensive midfield positions. When the game is won, Mourinho sends on guard dogs to protect the points.

City will not find this pragmatism easy to overcome. Only one point separates them in the table. Samuel Eto’o, supposedly signed as a golden oldie to make up the forward numbers, helped himself to a hat-trick against United. The cost to Chelsea of returning to Mourinho’s favoured caution, though, is to inhibit their most creative players: Oscar, Eden Hazard, Willian and Juan Mata, who stews in internal exile.

This anti-romantic, points-first approach by Mourinho is partly a reaction to City’s brilliance. He is back in his old role as Real Madrid manager, wondering how to cope with Barcelona. He has realised that out-playing City is beyond a squad that is midfield-heavy and striker-light. So he attempts to out-think them instead, applying relentless pressure to Pellegrini’s side through consistency and machismo.

Mourinho can make Chelsea pitiless again but there is nothing he can do to stop City blowing teams away. After a year of resting on garlands and fighting with Mancini in 2012-13, this City team look hungry for prizes again. These players must know life has blessed them with a chance to dominate the English game, not just this year but for five seasons to come.

Like Barcelona in Spain and Bayern Munich in Germany, City are at the point where they know they will win a game if they play to their full attacking potential, even if it has to be 4-2 or 5-3. This is a rare and special power which Pellegrini’s men are unlikely to waste.

To characterise this title race as Chelsea’s maths versus the majesty of City (and sometimes Arsenal) will be too reductionist for some. Yet there is an undeniable glow above the sky blue half of Manchester. The neutral optimist wants to see Wenger rewarded for sticking to his faith when all seemed lost. City, though, have extra dimensions. Mourinho is not just playing mind games when he says Pellegrini’s team have a “responsibility” to win the league this year.